The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

"Swiatkowska captures subtle changes of expression and signs of character in the faces and bodies of her figures despite using broad brushstrokes and streaky paint for the art—but that visual depth is not reflected in the spare, unsatisfying narrative. (Picture book. 6-8)"

In her third appearance, young Korean immigrant Yoon is disappointed when her mother gives her a folktale and an heirloom bracelet for her birthday rather than a coveted jump rope.
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"The magnificent illustrations are painted in a distinctive style with elements both impressionistic and surrealistic, perfectly suiting Yoon's changing world. (Picture book. 4-8)"

In their second collaboration about a Korean-American girl named Yoon, this team continues to explore the sensitive little girl's adjustment to living in the U.S. When Yoon learns about "Mr. Santa Claus" and hanging up stockings on Christmas Eve, she wants to have those traditions at her house, too.
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"She is also surrounded by supportive adults, and her cultural heritage, though specified, is given such a low profile that she becomes a sort of everychild, with whom many young readers faced with a similar sense of displacement will identify. (Picture book. 8-10)"

An unhappy young immigrant seeks, and at last regains, a sense of self in this atmospheric, expressionistically illustrated episode.
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